It is well known in the art to provide a supplemental inflatable restraint (SIR) system for the protection of vehicle occupants. A typical SIR includes a housing, an airbag normally stored in the housing, and an inflator for discharging gas to inflate the airbag. Typically, the inflator is activated in response to a predetermined amount of vehicle deceleration.
It is known to mount an air bag of a SIR system in an instrument panel, a door panel, as well as within a steering wheel. Air bag inflation in triggered by a device known as an initiator. The initiator is connected to an electrical connector which is operatively coupled to a pair of wires leading from a controller. The space available for an airbag is generally limited, especially for steering wheel mounted air bags. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize the size of any component within a SIR system, including the electrical connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,902 to Hopf et al, discloses an electrical connector for coupling wires to an initiator. The '902 patent teaches a connector having a pair of 90.degree. terminals coupled to wires leading through a ferrite filter element disposed longitudinally within a connector housing. The geometry of the connector of the '902 patent requires the wires to be inserted through the filter element before being crimped to the 90.degree. terminals. Although the '902 patent discloses a good electrical connector for an SIR system, it has a number of deficiencies. The location of the filter element results in a larger connector that requires more space. Furthermore, the location of the filter element substantially burdens the manufacturing process of the connector.
Therefore, it is desirous to provide an electrical connector for an SIR system having a reduced size. It is further desirous to provide an electrical connector for an SIR system which allows more efficient manufacturing of the connector and its components.